Members’ Newsletter: March 2008

TO ALL VCT MEMBERS: You are cordially invited to attend the Opening by the Mayor of of Vintage Carriages Trust’s Special Exhibition marking the 40th Anniversary of the Grand Re-Opening of the Keighley and Railway. On: Saturday 22nd March 2008 At: the Vintage Carriages Trust’s Museum of Rail Travel Time: 2.15 for 2.35 pm.

RSVP! If you are intending to be present please contact Dave Carr (VCT Honorary Secretary) by phone on 01759 304176, by email at [email protected] or by post to Dave Carr, Vintage Carriages Trust, c/o The Railway Station, , Keighley, BD22 8NJ.

VCT’s tribute to the KWVR - 40 years since Re-Opening Above is your invitation to the launch of VCT’s Special Exhibition in tribute to the 40th Anniversary of the Re-Opening of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway – the first train left Keighley at 2.35 pm on Saturday 29th June 1968. As you will remember from the last Newsletter, we applied to the Big Lottery for a grant of £5,000 to stage this tribute to the Railway and give an opportunity for local people to celebrate this achievement. Unfortunately the Big Lottery was not able to support this application. However, our Chairman (never one to be deterred by set- backs) has worked towards gathering some funds, which, although not as substantial as the hoped-for grant would have been, do ensure that the planned Exhibition will go ahead. Thanks are due to those Members who donated towards this project – obviously your contributions are still very welcome due to the absence of this grant money. We also give very grateful thanks to the Keighley Festival Committee which has contributed the good sum of £500 to the project, and to the Worth Valley Railway itself for its help and support. Please do let Dave know if you are able to attend this special day when USA 0-6-0T locomotive No. 72 and our Metropolitan Railway Brake coach No. 427 will be on display – resplendent in the colours they carried when they formed part of the Re-Opening train, 40 years ago. Our 9-compartment Metropolitan Railway coach No. 465 and our “South Eastern & Chatham” coach No. 3554 also formed part of the Re-Opening train and will be on display: but not in the liveries they carried 40 years ago!

The display will be in place throughout the 40th Anniversary Year. Other items on display will include some interesting paperwork on loan from the Railway’s archives. This will include notes of some of the early meetings which resulted in the formation of the K&WVRPS, also the Roster for the re-opening day. There’s lots of familiar names, with quite a number still around and very active on the Railway today. Come and see whose names you recognise. As you might expect, the Railway itself is planning a number of special events over this period. Doubtless details will be announced shortly. Our own Exhibition at will close in October. USA locomotive No. 72 will then return to the Railway’s Exhibition Shed, and our Metropolitan Brake coach will be returned to “London Transport Brown” more closely matching that of the Nine-Compartment coach No. 465. Railway Forum magazine of Summer/Autumn 1967 reminds us that the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway could so easily have died in the 1960s and joined the former Great Northern line as a green corridor. The efforts of the then Members of the K&WVRPS were described by Railway Forum as of “a very vigorous preservation society which has been negotiating for the re-opening of the line. Indeed, without the efforts of the preservation society the track would have undoubtedly have been lifted long ago.” We hope that the VCT’s contribution to the year will be a tribute to all those who ensured that the Re-Opening took place, that the Railway continued, and that it is all still here to be enjoyed by visitors, by volunteers, and by all local people.

Locomotive No. 72 is owned (as indeed it was forty years ago, and more) by K&WVRPS Vice- President Richard Greenwood. It has now been repainted from the “British Railways Black” livery it has carried for many years past whilst on display at the Oxenhope Exhibition building to the livery it carried on the day of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Re-Opening Special train of June 1968. This is a traditional American style including the numbering and lettering and a silver smoke box. The photo shows No. 72 almost completed and now on display in our Museum. This repainting was carried out by Tim Hanson, well know as Push & Pull editor as well as a regular volunteer in the Railway’s locomotive department. He carried out the work in our Workshop, our coach having been taken to Oxenhope to allow space for this to happen. The footplate floor has had the attention of Stuart Mellin to make it safe to enter. Stuart is also constructing steps so that all can reach the footplate in safety, and has made a laminated glass screen so that our visitors can look without touching the controls, which will be labelled appropriately. It is a necessary part of being involved in shunting the building at Ingrow to be good at playing chess (and to be able to use a measuring tape!). Each move has an effect on the rest of the display. Moving locomotive No. 72 from Oxenhope to our Workshop at Ingrow was a very good example of this intricate planning. The photo opposite (top) shows No. 72 very unusually temporarily beside our locomotive Lord Mayor, outside our Museum building. A further shunt took place as two of the Trust’s Metropolitan Railway coaches (the Nine-Compartment and the Brake) departed for their “Annie and Clarabel” duty for the National Railway Museum’s “Thomas” event. The space freed up by their departure allowed us to welcome into the Workshop Class 101 Driving Motor Brake Second 51189, being one half of the Railway’s second diesel multiple unit – seen opposite (centre) almost ready to leave the Workshop. Chris Smith has been able to spend almost four weeks working on the exterior of this vehicle. This has mainly been making good life-expired sheet metalwork around the windows and elsewhere, followed by anti-rust treatment, priming and painting. With the assistance of Andy Tarran

(who has recently joined the Railway’s full- time staff at Haworth Locomotive Yard), his father Mike (who as a volunteer looks after fire and other safety aspects for us at Ingrow) and others (notably Robert Green) a great deal of work has been done on this vehicle, which just wouldn’t have happened had it been at its normal location on the siding at the rail side of Haworth Shed. This job will also earn the Trust some much- needed money – and we look forward to the possibility of further contract work as and when space is available in our Workshop, either by carriages being in use elsewhere or by the Railway finding temporary suitable accommodation at Haworth or at Oxenhope. At the time of writing the two coaches are expected back from the National Railway Museum within the next very few days. There will then be another significant shunt with the DMU vehicle returning to Haworth and our Metropolitan Brake vehicle going into our Workshop. Chris will then repaint the Brake into the “Oxford Blue and Primrose” livery it carried forty years ago, ready for yet another significant shunt to position it with locomotive No. 72 for the Exhibition. As previously noted, this will be opened on Saturday 22nd March – that’s in rather less than five weeks’ time. Chris will not be alone in looking forward to a rather less hectic programme of work over the Summer!

Scammell Farewell In the midst of all this activity there is one vehicle which will no longer be causing space problems as we say farewell to one of our old friends. The Scammell Mechanical Horse, registration number CAN 863 and owned by Tate & Lyle Sugar, is to move permanently in the near future to the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley. We have grown to be very fond of this vehicle which we have over the years restored to its present excellent condition without any outside funding. Sadly this particular vehicle has no railway associations at all, having spent its working life at Tate & Lyle’s Silvertown refinery in East London. The Scammell achieved headlines some years ago – or, rather, Jackie Cope did – when as the named VCT Officer she received a Notice of Intended Prosecution from the police in Bolton that she had been seen speeding in this vehicle on a road in that area. As the Mechanical Horse was at that time in small pieces on the Workshop floor it was easy to get her (and it) out of trouble. You may remember it

turned out to be a Belgian car which had the same somewhat historic number. Perhaps the “B for Belgium” disc on the car also gave some clue? This incident reached every single transport magazine over the next few months bringing good publicity for the Trust, if not for Jackie! We are sure that the vehicle will be well looked after by the Midland Road Transport Group, which now has a purpose-built shed on the Midland Railway Centre’s site. Here they display buses, road rollers and other vehicles. There are several volunteers within this group who look forward to looking after the vehicle and hopefully will allow it time out on the extensive MRC site.

Other Collection News Carriages: The Bulleid has been sharing the Workshop with a variety of bedfellows – first the Met. Brake, then locomotive No. 72, then the DMU, soon the Met. Brake again, and for the duration of this coming Summer our own Lord Mayor and the Great Northern six-wheeler. Progress continues positively and steadily rather than spectacularly. When he has a moment (or two, or more) free from what he’s doing at present for the Exhibition, Stuart Mellin will finalise the detailed fitting of the interior trim of the window frames, all of which are otherwise complete. Robin Bannier has reached a restoration milestone by having started putting the furniture and fittings into the second saloon, as seen in the photo. This includes most of the overhead luggage racks, a heater and as you will see from the photograph some of the trim and mountings for the first seat bays. Michael Cope continues steadily with the varnishing programme, albeit at present slightly delayed by the dust associated with the work on the Railway’s diesel multiple unit vehicle. We do very much thank all those Members who continue to support our work on the ‘Bulleid’ coach. It may be a mere 57 years old, but it’s an important carriage. The appeal in the December Newsletter has so far raised well over £800, for which many thanks indeed! Obviously any further donations would be very welcome, so please keep encouraging Robin and his team in this way. After a great deal of work investigating how we can best tackle the task and in particular how best to source the laminated material needed to replace the life-expired “Formica” in the toilets we now have a clear vision of the way forward and all being well will be able to go ahead with this as soon as the launch of the Exhibition is safely out of the way. Incidentally the budget cost of the laminated panels has come down very usefully and although high enough at a currently-budgeted £330 is rather more containable than appeared previously. The panels are of course only part of the challenge – but getting past this hurdle will be a very useful step forward. It has been a long haul and it is not over yet – but we are certainly “getting there”.

The Metropolitan Railway Brake and Nine-Compartment coaches have just very successfully completed performing their roles as “Annie” and “Clarabel” at the National Railway Museum’s “Thomas the Tank Engine” fortnight. As many Members will have heard, there is some doubt as to the longer-term future of Heritage Railway and other “Thomas” events across the country. We do hope that these problems will be solved to the satisfaction of all and in particular that the National Railway Museum event continues. We gather that the NRM is well pleased with using these coaches for this purpose – and it does represent a useful source of income for us! Our 1886-built Midland Railway coach No. 358 is now resting in the Oxenhope Exhibition shed, where it will stay for the duration of the 40th Anniversary exhibition. However please note that this Exhibition shed will be closed to the public over most of the next few months to have major work carried out. Our coach (together with many of the other carriages and locomotives currently in that shed) will be inaccessible during this closure. Hopefully the Great Northern Railway 6-wheel coach No. 154 will see some progress over the Summer. This coach will be in the Workshop for the duration of our Exhibition so all being well we should be able to do some work on at least the roof and the compartment ceilings. As you will know, the underframe and running gear are now in excellent order. However, the interior proper will need to wait until we have quite a lot of money, which may well mean another Grant application – and another Appeal! This may be quite some time yet. In the meantime progress would be helped by someone willing to do some research into this vehicle. Should you be able to volunteer for this task, we would be delighted to hear from you. Hopefully the National Railway Museum’s new “Search Engine” will help this research. Sadly delays to its full opening mean that the information we seek isn’t as yet available. However, all being well we will be able to see what the NRM can offer in this area within a month or two. The other coaches (Great Northern No. 2856, the First Class Met., the ‘Chatham’ and the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire) remain on display, with visitor access. Locomotives: Our old friend Lord Mayor once more drew in the crowds at the Railway’s Spring Steam Gala as Dave, Jim and others pinchbar’d it out of our Museum on to the forecourt and with the help of some oily rags and a match created a steaming mirage. Maybe one of these days it will be given the financial boost it needs to turn that mirage into a reality! We are pleased to have received a very up-to-date report from Mark Tweedy outlining progress with Bellerophon. In this report he says: “It is hoped that the boiler will be ready for hydraulic and static steam tests by the end of this month. The frames are progressing well in the [Foxfield Railway] museum building. All four spring push rod brackets have been either refurbished or replaced. Currently the coupling rod brasses are being closed and bedded in. The rear tank pipe has had to be replaced as the old one was rotten. The wheels and frame are painted and the rods will go back on ready for when the boiler can be fitted. At this stage the loco can then go into the [Foxfield] workshop to be finished”. All this news is very heartening and we really look forward to seeing this old warhorse in action again on the Foxfield Railway and possibly elsewhere. “Bellerophon” has a large fan club and we do thank all those who continue to give their support we do hope that the locomotive will show its thanks by entering traffic again in the very near future. From the , Steve Roberts reports that the hot box problem which Sir Berkeley suffered whilst at the Bluebell Railway has been rectified – a non-return valve within the lubrication line had failed. Since then all have been very pleased with Sir Berkeley, which has run very well and has proved to be reliable and economical. The valve timing is reported as now being “spot on”, which helps. The locomotive was in regular use until the end of September, when the absence of a cab and deteriorating weather led to a certain loss of enthusiasm from the loco crew. The Middleton Railway re-opens at Easter. However, Sir Berkeley is unlikely to be in use for a few weeks after then until hopefully the weather improves. Having almost no weather protection means that the locomotive is very much a “Summer engine”! The Middleton’s days of operation and timetables are available at their website www.middletonrailway.org.uk. This website may also show which locomotive is to be used that weekend – if not, please ring the Middleton Railway on 0113 271 0320 prior to travelling.

“Vintage Train Days” and other Special Events It’s not yet clear which carriages the Railway will be additional to the cost of a valid travel ticket for the using for the various “Vintage Train” and other day. To book, please ring the Railway (not VCT!) special-event days over this coming Summer and midweek during normal working hours on 01535 Autumn. Dates for these events appear below under 645214. the heading “Dates for your Diary”. It’s likely that The other new initiative by the Railway for 2008 is a our carriages will appear on most if not on all of series of Guided Tours of the Railway. These will these days. However, for up-to-date information and take place on Sundays 9th March, before making a special journey please check our 13th April, 11th May, 1st June, 13th July, website www.vintagecarriagestrust.org or the 10th August, 7th September and 12th October. These Railway’s website www.kwvr.co.uk or email us at tours allow visitors to “see behind the scenes” over [email protected] or telephone us on the whole line. The tours set off in the morning from 01535 680425 Haworth and include visits to Haworth Yard, (daily, 11 am to 4.30 pm). Oxenhope C&W and carriage storage sheds, a buffet The Railway has two new initiatives for 2008. The lunch on the train, also visits to BLS and ourselves at first doesn’t directly affect our Trust but may be of Ingrow, then to before finishing mid- interest to our Members – and is pre-booking for afternoon back at Haworth. The price for all this is “Cream Teas with The Old Gentleman”. These are £19.50 inclusive – sadly with no reductions. To available on all of the Vintage Train Days except book, again please ring the Railway (not VCT) rd Sunday 3 August. The cream teas will be served on midweek during normal working hours on 01535 board the 1871-built North Eastern Railway 645214. Directors’ Saloon – made famous as the “The Old Please note that both the Cream Teas and the Tours Gentleman’s Saloon” from the classic film The of the Line are booking rapidly – so if you wish to Railway Children. Departures are from Oxenhope take part in either of these please contact the Railway Station (only) at 11.45 am and 1.15, 2.45 and 4.15 as above ASAP. pm. The supplement for the round-trip is £10 and is

A further event affecting VCT or at the least Ingrow Station Yard is Keighley Festival of Transport, planned for Sunday 6th July (which is a “Vintage Train” day). This is billed as a Road & Rail Extravaganza, to be hosted jointly by Keighley Bus Museum Trust and the Railway. The Festival includes a display of historic heavy lorries and heritage buses at Ingrow, a Bronte Country Road Run of classic cars and light commercials from followed by display at Oxenhope Railway Station. Heritage buses (including open top) will operate a scenic service along the Worth Valley, with an integrated service of heritage buses & trains linking Keighley and Oxenhope throughout the day, with joint ticketing facilities.

Other News Membership Matters: Thank you to everyone who The Sustainability Study carried out by Richard has renewed Membership for 2008 and thank you Kilburn with assistance of the Association of also to those of you who were able to make Independent Museums/Esmée Fairbairn grant now donations. Those of us fortunate enough to be able to some months ago has not been forgotten in the midst be actively involved in running the trust also of all this activity. It is so easy to read reports of this appreciate the kind words of encouragement sort, say very good and then file them away. received. If you have not yet renewed, you will find Our Curatorial Adviser Richard Gibbon recognised enclosed a reminder notice – if you do not renew this danger and among other very constructive your Membership, this will be the last Newsletter you suggestions made the offer to build a display will receive. interactive, using a scale model carriage in his We extend a warm welcome to the following new possession to label the many parts of the carriage and Members: H G Colyer (Stockport), Robert Green how they affect the restoration procedure, which is (), Ethan Hearn (Oakworth), Michael after all what we are really about. This project was Kibbart (Ipswich), J J Maxim (Ipswich), Mrs G A successfully put forward to the Museums Libraries Smallwood (Newton-le Willows), Phil McGowan and Archives Yorkshire (MLAY) Museums (London) and Robbie Tempest (). Development Fund Grant Scheme.

It will be very much volunteer-led and carried What only the best-dressed are wearing in 2008 – through with the grant of up to £575 being used for an offer to Members: materials and components needed for its On your visits to the Museum of Rail Travel no construction. We are quite looking forward to doubt you have noticed that the working Members, pushing the buttons and seeing the project in action, committee Members and officers tend to wear VCT teaching us all about the parts of carriages which jumpers, polo shirts etc. in that rather fetching shade came to light in relation to this project. Some of the of maroon. labels on Richard’s suggested list were new to even Of course, this is good practice, allowing Members our seasoned restorers: so we all have something to of the public to identify staff if they wish to ask a learn. question etc. It also helps create a sense of corporate Marketing has been a focus which recently identity and particularly away from Ingrow can be a warranted a special Committee Meeting. This turned good marketing tool. out to be very constructive with all those present It was never intended to be a privilege exclusive to making a contribution and the subsequent thoughts of the working Members; so we would like to offer the some have been really imaginative. All successful same facility to you, our much-appreciated Members. businesses have a company image – many a Currently we have tried and tested polo shirts, particular colour by which they are recognised. VCT sweatshirts, v-neck jumpers, T-shirts and a variety of has for many years used the Manchester Sheffield & shirts and blouses – everything from informal to Lincolnshire coach as its logo: smart. All come with our distinctive logo (the MS&L

coach, as shown) on the left breast. They are good quality garments manufactured in all sizes and are very reasonably priced. We also have a small stock of VCT ties already at Ingrow. We supply your needs at cost price, so for once we are not asking you for a penny! Of course, those who This follows this coach’s restoration and its live a distance from Ingrow and will require goods to subsequent clutch of awards in the 1980s. Midland be posted on will have to bear the costs of postage. Red has been our main colour scheme, falling in with the Worth Valley Railway’s historic Midland If you are interested, please contact Dave Carr by e- Railway link. However, our last set of leaflets and mail [email protected] or by telephone posters have a green and yellow colour scheme, 01759 304176 or by post c/o Haworth Station and he which proved very effective and really stand out on will advise on exact prices, styles and materials etc. leaflet racks and in poster displays. Is it time for a change? What are your thoughts?

Dates for your Diary Saturday 22nd March: Opening by the Mayor of Keighley of VCT’s Special Exhibition marking the 40th Anniversary of the Grand Re-Opening of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway – to which all VCT Members are invited. 2.15 for 2.35 pm. Sunday 23rd March: Aire Valley Vintage Machinery Club “Crank-Up” in Ingrow Railway Centre Yard. Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May (May Day Bank Holiday): Vintage Trains on the Worth Valley Railway. Our carriages are likely to be in use on this occasion. First Sundays in June, July and August: Vintage Train Days on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. Again, these days should include use of our carriages. Friday 23rd May to Sunday 1st June: “1968 and all that” at the National Railway Museum. A commemoration of 40 years since the end of steam haulage on Britain’s mainline railways. Current plans are that VCT will be present with Bellerophon and a sales stall. Friday 27th June to Sunday 29th June: Keighley & Worth Valley Railway’s 40th Anniversary Weekend Gala. A celebration of the Railway’s Re-Opening, in which VCT will be playing an active part. Friday 10th October to Sunday 12th October: Worth Valley Railway Autumn Gala. Again, it is likely that this will involve some of VCT’s carriages.

Other Notices Our twinned French body AJECTA, the “Association de Tax, would you please consider doing so, using the form that Jeunes pour l’Entretien et la Conservation des Trains should be enclosed with this copy of the Newsletter? If you d’Autrefois” celebrate their 40th Anniversary this year. do not pay Income Tax or if you do not wish to take part in Opening times for their depot at Longueville and information the Gift Aid scheme, would you please write “I do not wish to about their 2008 railtours is on their website www.ajecta.org. participate” across this form and return it to the Trust. Longueville is close to Provins, at the outer extremity of the Data Protection Act. VCT is registered under this Act. The Paris suburban rail network. Trust’s Membership records are included within this Contact information: AJECTA, Dépôt des Machines, Rue registration. VCT Membership records are not made available Louis Platriez, 77650 Longueville, France. Email, to any outside bodies. [email protected]. Telephone: (00 33) 1 64 08 60 62: or try CAF ‘Give as You Earn’ Scheme. Those taking part in this the Provins Tourist Office on (00 33) 1 64 60 26 26. Charities Aid Foundation scheme can make one-off or regular VCT Working Weekends take place on the second full gifts to the Trust by quoting ‘Vintage Carriages Trust’ and weekend of each month. So: dates for the next few months our Registration Number 00230500 on your Choice Form or th th th th th th are: March 8 /9 : April 12 /13 : May 10 /11 : June Coupon. Your support in this way is very much appreciated! 14th/15th: July 12th/13th. Giving through your Self-Assessment Income Tax Return. Working Evenings take place on the first and third If you pay Income Tax through the Individual Self Wednesday of each month. Assessment scheme, you may now nominate a Charity to This doesn’t mean that there is nothing to do at other times receive any tax repayments as a donation. Should you wish to but these are times when someone is bound to be around. If support Vintage Carriages Trust in this way you may do so by you are able to work at other times including midweek quoting the Trust’s unique code, which is: FAC78RG. So, if (Tuesdays, for preference!) please ring – normally we can you are self-assessed, please note this number and please find something you might like to tackle! consider using it to support our Trust. Every Saturday and Sunday we need volunteers to look Donations: Please keep your donations coming! As well as after our sales, and our visitors. financial contributions we welcome items either for the If you can help even if it is only occasionally do get in touch Museum or for sale – everything that’s “railways” is of ring 01535 680425 or email us on interest: railway magazines, books and especially model [email protected] railway equipment for selling through our shop and the Gift Aid. If you haven’t as yet completed a Gift Aid form in website. favour of the Trust and if you pay United Kingdom Income

Sir Berkeley hard at work at Cranford Ironstone 49 years ago – note the crude but effective cab!

Photo: R M Casserley

Produced and published by the Vintage Carriages Trust (Charity Registered in No. 510776, Registered Museum No. 1202) Owners of the Museum of Rail Travel, Ingrow Railway Centre, Keighley Correspondence address: The Railway Station, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD22 8NJ Museum telephone 01535 680425; fax 01535 610796. Hon Secretary telephone 01759 304176. Website: www.vintagecarriagestrust.org Email: [email protected]